The Young Captives: A Story of Judah and Babylon eBook

“I stand in thy presence as a bearer of a message
from my sovereign master, King of Babylon.”

“Methinks I have seen thee on another occasion.”

“And was not my behavior honorable and becoming?”

“Did the King of Judah say otherwise?”

“Yea, otherwise.”

“How?”

“By his vile and haughty treatment of the king’s
ambassador.”

“Be sparing with thine insolence, or at this
time thou mayest fare far worse.”

“The Chaldean ambassador is not to be frightened
by idle threats from one who lives at the mercy of
his master.”

“Thinkest thou thyself safe because thou art
surrounded with a few soldiers? Knowest thou
not that within my call there are hundreds of armed
men, ready to execute my will?”

“And knowest thou not that Jerusalem is in the
hands of the Chaldeans, and that threescore thousand
men of war are stationed in the city?”

“Threescore thousand! But come, sir, what
is the message of the King of Babylon to the King
of Judah? Let thy words be few.”

“Then thou art commanded, without delay, to
appear in my master’s presence, and there learn
his sovereign will concerning thyself and the city.”

“Commanded! Ha, ha, ha! Go thy way,
and inform thy master that if he desires to see Jehoiakim,
King of Judah, he must call at the royal palace, where
he may have his desires gratified.”

“Then I go. Faithfully will I convey thy
answer to my illustrious sovereign.”

The minister hastened from the royal palace, to convey
to the king the result of the interview, while the
King of Judah, waxing more desperate, still applied
himself to his cups.

The King of Babylon, on his arrival in Jerusalem,
ordered his magnificent royal tent to be pitched in
the center of a large square in the very heart of
the city. The great body of the army was stationed
in another part—­the royal guard remaining
near the royal tent. From this spot went forth
the summons to the King of Judah to appear in the presence
of the King of Babylon.

“Where is his Royal Highness, the King of Judah?”
asked Nebuchadnezzar.

“He laughs to scorn thy commands, O king! and
wishes to inform thee that if thou hast aught to communicate
he may be consulted at his palace.”

“By all the gods, the fellow is mad!”
cried Nebuchadnezzar in a passion. “I’ll
have to bend his stubborn will—­yea, I shall
do it. I thirst not for his blood; but let the
guilty monarch beware how he trifles with my commands!
Balphoras! haste thee back with a double guard, and
inform Jehoiakim that my orders are not to be trifled
with; and moreover, that if he persists in his stubbornness,
I shall send sufficient force to drag him into my
presence as a guilty culprit.”